‘More Than Just Human Heroes’ the Role of the Pigeon in the First World War

Abstract

Due to their centrality in war communications, carrier pigeons, lofts and pigeon handlers were legitimate targets for enemy forces during the First World War . As a result of the multi-faceted nature and conflicting interests associated with the post-war debate on appropriate ways of memorialising the war dead (humans), the contribution the animals was largely excluded from the discussions and rarely considered. Belgian and French pigeon fanciers in particular, who as moral witnesses to the slaughter of their birds and brethren, were the exception. They took action to supplement the military and quasi-military, as well as informal recognition extended to war pigeons and their handlers, by erecting official monuments to honour their war dead. Responding to current debates that question animal memorialisation in general, this article, which is largely based on contemporary news reports, reports on an investigation of the early war pigeon memorials, their nature, form symbolism and meaning for the affected community within the context of animal and war memorialisation generally.

Invasive birds: global trends and impacts

“…In cities, most people generally do not consider pigeons a problem as they enjoy watching and feeding them (Gompertz, 1957); however, attitudes are changing because of the negative impacts of pigeon excreta (Felder et al, 2007;Dobeic et al, 2011). Ancient Egyptians used these birds for ceremonial and culinary purposes, and in some parts of the world they have also been used as messengers during both war and peace times (Wendell, 1977;Shapiro and Domyan, 2013;Snyders, 2015).…”

“…This also occurred in other parts of the world . Rock Doves were used as messengers during war (Wendell, 1977), and the first country to do so at the beginning of 1891 was France (Snyders, 2015). Homing pigeons were also introduced to South Africa for communication during war between 1899 and 1902 (Lincoln, 1927).…”